Dark as Pitch
by Bandearg Rois
Summary: If you could live forever, what would you live for? The question was asked of Harry when he was younger, much younger, and he might have found the answer. Question is, can he protect those he loves? X-Over with Pitch Black. HP/Riddick
1. Small Changes

Rating: NC-17 for language, violence, and sexual situations

Fandom: PB/TCOR (starts out PB, goes into TCOR)

Disclaimer: I do not own Riddick or anything to do with him, or Harry or anything to do with him. I do however own the way his magic manifests... anything you don't recognise probably belongs to one of my other personalities

Summary : In the crash of the Hunter-Grazner, a new survivor is added to the mix. The only problem for the others? He knows Riddick, and Riddick knows him. How will their relationship change the survivors?

Pairing: Riddick/Harry

Archive: Please ask permission before archiving this

Critique: Yes, please! My main reason for writing this story, besides wanting another Riddick/HP fic, is that I'm trying to make my writing better.

Notes: Well, this will definitely be AU from Harry Potter standpoint, but I'm trying not to pull too far from Riddick's 'natural' actions. Instead I'm trying to flesh out his emotions and how he would act if no one were watching, or if he was comfortable with his companions. Also, as I said in the Feedback portion, I'm always looking to make my writing better, so if anyone would like to take a crack at betaing, I'd appreciate the help.

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**Chapter 1**

'They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep. All but the primitive side… the animal side. No wonder I'm still awake. Transporting me with civilians. Sounded like 40-plus. Heard an Arab voice; some hoodoo holy man. Probably on his way to New Mecca. But by what route?

'Smelled a woman; sweat, boots, tool belt, leather. Prospector type. Tch. Free settlers. They only take the back roads. And something else; something… elusive. I feel like I should recognise it… It's a man, that I know. Other than that I'm not sure.

'Ah, but here's my real problem: Mr. Johns, the blue-eyed devil. Planning on taking me back to slam… Only this time he picked a ghost lane. Long time between stops… Long time for something to go wrong.'

Riddick's nostrils flared as and he felt his ears try to prick; something happened, something bad. He'd felt the shudder, and he could smell the fear coming off the crew. There were two of them, a man and a woman.

"Captain's dead…."

"Weeks out…"

"…Dead!"

"…Hemorrhaging air! Something…"

"…Still in… Lane."

"…All those stars, those big bright—"

"…Emergency from merchant… Enroute to theTangiers….passengers…"

Riddick listened harder.

"We've been knocked out of our shipping lane and entering… a planetary body in the following position; X—… Fryewhere the hell's our comm?!" the man yelled, panicking.

A cool feminine computer voice::Rate of descent above known limits.::

"They trained you for this right?"

::Deploy lower air brakes now.::

::Deploy lower air brakes now. Center of gravity too far off. Recommend purging ballast now.:: A thunk, then a crash as part of the ship dropped away.

"What the… Frye was that a purge?!"

"Too heavy in the ass! Can't get my fucking nose down!"

"Crisis program selected Number 2 in the galaxy because it shows some oxygen. Maximum terrain…"

::220 meters above surface.::

"Largely cinder and gypsum with some evaporite deposits." There was another thunk, and then a frustrated scream from the woman. "Frye what the hell are you doing?!"

"I gotta drop more load! I tried everything else; I still got no horizon." Riddick smiled through his bit; so this was how he was going to end. So be it… but he wanted to be loose for his death. He started working on his chains.

"You try everything twice! We don't just flush out—"

"Look, you know something I don't, get up here and take the chair."

"Company says we are responsible for every single one of those people."

"What we both die out of sheer fucking nobility?!"

"Don't touch that handle!"

"I'm not dying for them!"

::Air lock doors not secure.::

"70 seconds! You still have 70 seconds to level this beast out Frye!"

::Air lock doors not secure.::

"OWENS!" Riddick's attention turned away as he felt Johns pop out of cryo and stare at his locker before moving away. The other male came out of cryo, as well, and then closed the door again. He could hear the hiss of the door shutting again, just before another thunk sounded, leveling them a bit before they ploughed into the ground.

The first thing he noticed when everything stopped, was that he could move. He climbed up into some pipes and hid.

When Johns made his way under him, he slammed his chained feet up under Johns' chin, wrapping the chain around his neck. Johns managed to break his hold on the beam… and everything went black.

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	2. Of Furyans and Immortals

Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Black, Riddick, or Harry Potter. I do however, own all of the HP books kin various incarnations, and have seen all of the movies for both series… so I do know what I'm doing, though they come and go as they please.

A/N: I'M BACK. So so so so sorry, but I lost all of my movies, files, and things in a tragic computer accident, rendering my spotty memory incapable of being used. I have since bought a new laptop, and have reacquired the Riddick movies, and have been rewatching them. So, I'm back, but with no clear memory of what I was originally writing… so I'm going my own way, in a different direction I think, and it should work out just fine.

Warnings: WILL BE SLASH. Also, Riddick is not a sniveling little romancer around Harry, and Harry is slightly OOC, though after having lived so long, don't you think you'd have changed a bit, too? Mature themes, violence, swearing, and some sex scenes (clearly marked, as the violence will be, for the squicked or faint of heart). Oh yeah, it's also slightly AU as to Riddick's history, being that he was in Ursa Minor before working for the Company.

Pairing: Harry/Riddick

_~speech~_ is modified Parseltongue, in case anyone is going to be wondering.

Summary: If you could live forever, what would you live for? The question was asked of Harry when he was younger, much younger, and he might have found the answer. Question is, can he protect those he loves? And how will his relationship with the convict Riddick change the events that take place?

**Chapter 2**

Harry landed on his knees with a groan when the ship stopped moving. Damn, landing actually hurt. He looked around, listening intently. He heard a young voice screaming nearby. 'Kyra,' his mind whispered. His daughter, the only one alive, and the first one in thousands of years. She had run from her 'father' after her mother had died, and while he had been occupied with finding Rick, he had almost run her over. He didn't do anything; she wasn't in trouble or danger, yet. But he did influence her to take her meager savings and book passage under a false name on the same ship Johns had taken Rick on. He himself simply invoked his Right and boarded with no one but the Captain the wiser. He was pretty sure he wasn't even on the manifest.

He had felt his friend die, one of the only people who knew his Truth, who he was. But grief was for after he'd saved his daughter from herself. He pulled the debris from her cryo container and when she fell out, he noticed that before entering the ship, she'd covered her short hair with a cap and was trying to act as a boy. Fine, let her. It might protect her in the end. He helped her up and brushed her off before letting her wander while he checked up on the person he'd been looking for.

He found Rick chained to a post in the ruined part of the ship, seemingly unconscious. It had been 5 years since he'd last seen the larger man; he doubted he'd know him by scent, but maybe by sound.

"Hello, Rick." A shiver went through the bound form before him, and a garbled rumble escaped around the bit in his mouth. Harry knew that he was known now, and that was enough. He melted into the shadows when Johns and the pilot came walking by, talking about 'the prisoner.' After they'd moved out of sight, he pulled a cutting torch from where it was hanging and dropped it near Rick's feet before touching his arm as he moved to another opening to exit the ship.

Once he had, he joined the others in the cargo hold, and Kyra, who'd introduced herself as Jack, immediately latched onto him, as 'his' saviour. He ruffled the cap and introduced himself as Orion Potter, which everyone seemed to accept, and joined in their talk of finding water, and figuring out how to breathe in the thin air. He himself had no troubles: if you couldn't die, breathing wasn't really an issue. He opted to join the scouting party in order to keep an eye on Johns, and to subtly erase what track of Rick's he could; it wouldn't do for the other man to be found so soon, would it?

He didn't worry about 'Jack' being left at the crash site; the prospectors were more than enough to keep her occupied, and he'd also subtly marked her before he'd gone. Rick knew better than to touch something that was his. He'd begun getting a little anxious, though, even if only in his own mind, when strange mutterings beneath the ground had reached his sensitive ears. It was similar to a speech he hadn't heard in a long time; snakes were extinct in all but the most posh circles by this time, and he steered clear of them as much as possible.

'_~Soon… feed… mate… LIVE!~'_ The speech was rudimentary, as if those speaking it were merely children, or very young adults with little social interaction with an older generation. He kept a closer eye on the children; they were the curious ones, and it really would not do for them to be caught by these creatures.

Once they reached a small settlement, after passing through a graveyard of animals that resembled elephants, the bones of which had been picked clean some time before. He noticed Rick shadowing them and gave him a subtle signal to back off; Johns was hyper-vigilant, and he didn't need the added aggravation of keeping the trails clear. Once rick was gone, he watched with amusement as the humans exclaimed over the water machine, because he would have been able to create water with nary a word. But his talents were best used in emergencies; even he had a limit to his power, even after living such a long time and refining his technique to the barest use.

When the gunshots came, he wasn't surprised; he knew it wasn't Rick, as the man would never be stupid enough to be caught out by an armed assailant, no matter how skilled or unskilled the wielder was. As they got closer to the crash site, more screams and shots rang out; the man who was digging the graves was dead. When they reached it, Riddick was watching from the other side of the grave, a clean shiv in his hand and surprise closely hidden in his eyes. Something else had killed the man, but Shezza, the man's wife, was having none of the attempts to calm her down.

Riddick was knocked unconscious and chained to his old cryo cell, and Harry melted into the shadows nearby, waiting for him to wake. When he did, the 'Captain' was waiting as well, to speak to him. Harry wanted to growl when she asked to see Rick's eyes; he did in fact, but he doubted anyone but Riddick would have heard it. He was amused by Rick's comments about the whispers, since it had actually been Harry himself, whispering into Rick's mind to cut the bitch as soon as possible, to prevent her from killing more people in her ineptitude.

'Jack' was somewhat of a surprise, but 12 year olds were curious creatures, whatever the gender, and he was heartened by Rick's jocular words, though he knew the girl took them to be fact. He knew the origins or Rick's eyes, even if the other man had repressed the memories and created new ones, since he had been present on Furya 30 years before, and had known Shirah, the spirit that had given Rick his eyes. As soon as he'd met Rick, on Sigma 3, he'd known what had happened; the boy had been sent to a no-daylight slam when he was young, and believed that the shine had come from the 'doctor' in the prison.

He didn't feel like breaking her misconceptions just yet, and so he seconded Carolyn's order for her to disappear, even though his was silent and probably not consciously noticed. He listened to the conversation about Zeke's death, and came out of his hiding place.

"He didn't kill the man," he said in a soothing voice, smiling at the startled woman. "I don't know what did, but the ground is whispering, the spires are murmuring. Perhaps what you seek is deeper than you're willing to go."

"How do you know that?"

"Come now, in this day and age you haven't heard of enhancements? Things to make people better?" At her wary nod, he just shrugged. "My hearing is better than most; and the spires are especially thin. There's something under the earth, something dangerous. I wouldn't go down there if I were you."

"Potter-"

"Orion, Carolyn, please. We're all friends here."

"Orion then. Who are you, really? I don't remember you on my manifest."

"My dear girl," he said in a fatherly tone, because for all that he looked to be in his mid-twenties, he really could have been her ancestor. "I knew Gregory, and Monty. They were doing me a favor, and so I wouldn't be on your manifest, now would I? My condolences, by the way, but mourning is for those who have time, and we haven't any, do we?" He could sense the whispers getting stronger, and the planets shifting, aligning themselves into something extraordinary, but she didn't need to know that just yet.

"Okay, so you're an old friend of the Captain's, a man that is twice your age," she returned skeptically. She had a good head on her shoulders, he'd give her that.

"Appearances can be quite deceiving, Carolyn, m'girl. I'm much older than you'd think." He smiled again and slipped past her, and out into the sunshine. He was carrying Rick's goggles, waiting for Carolyn to talk to Johns and for Johns to do what was predicted; to make a deal with Rick, to gain his cooperation, even if the merc thought he would keep the upper hand at the end. Once that happened, he laughed as Rick proved just how stupid the blonde was.

"Rick," he murmured, once the moment was over, handing the larger man his goggles. "Good to see you again." He allowed himself to be pushed into the shadows, and reveled in the feel of Rick's hands on his body, sensitive nose pressed against his neck, recapturing memory, reasserting dominance. Harry gave ground willingly, overjoyed to be reunited with the only person able to hold his attentions for any true amount of time.

"Been a long time, _Orion_," Rick growled in his ear, sending shivers down his spine. "Thought you'd gone away." Rick knew better than to say 'died,' since he knew very well that dying was nigh on impossible for his green-eyed mate, and Harry was glad to know that the larger man's mental faculties were intact.

"I had gone away… Had to see to some family." He felt Rick tense at those words, and soothed him gently. "Children of mine, rather, a child. You know them, I believe."

"The girl." He grinned at the comprehension on the Furyan's face, in those impossibly silver eyes, and kissed him deeply.

"Clever, love, as always." He slid out from between Rick and the bulkhead, deftly avoiding seeking hands, and laughing at the frustrated growl. "Come along, Johnny-boy won't wait forever." He led the way into the sunshine, confident that his little dysfunctional family, at least, would make it out of this alive.

A/N2: So, I'm hoping that Harry was believable, and that Riddick was, too. Did anyone notice what I did, in tying them both to Sigma 3? That will be rehashed later, as well as the fact that Riddick already knows that 'Jack' is a girl.

Reviews are wonderful snacks, and with three children in the house, snacks are few and far between at the best of times… Feed me please?


	3. Of Discoveries and Machiavellian Plans

Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Black, Riddick, or Harry Potter. I do however, own all of the HP books kin various incarnations, and have seen all of the movies for both series… so I do know what I'm doing, though they come and go as they please.

A/N: Y'all are so lucky I got almost all of my muses back with the addition of my portable writing device which is not a notebook. You get blessed with more of my writing (unless it's not a blessing, in which case I apologize but will continue regardless)! This is a first for me, writing one chapter immediately after posting one. If this is within the same 24 hour period, you should feel doubly blessed, because that means I'm inspired and am enjoying my work.

Also to Curious Reader, no, that's not a stab at other RiddickHarry fics out there, and I wasn't intending to be rude. I had a friend read the rough draft of the copy before I'd completely typed all the extras like the warnings and such, and she commented that she liked that Riddick's personality hadn't changed in his interactions with Harry, which I was going for, and was also something I'd done in a previous incarnation of the story. Those were her words not mine, and I'm sorry if I offended you, but that's honestly the way I feel as well, though it is not directed to any of the fics that I have read, since the OOC displayed in them was in character for either the relationship conveyed or the storyline used. Again, I apologise.

Also to JDMidnight, thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad he hasn't changed too much beyond maturity, which is another mistake I've made before, changing him too much when I wasn't going for that feel. I am just trying to keep realistic to both mens' behavior and emotional states, though in this chapter, Harry might show himself off as a little crasy, but that might just be what Riddick sees.

And also thanks to the other reviewers, and hopefully those of you that read the first chapter oh so long ago haven't completely abandoned me, even though I kind of deserve it for letting this lapse so far.

Warnings: WILL BE SLASH. Also, Riddick is not a sniveling little romancer around Harry, and Harry is slightly OOC, though after having lived so long, don't you think you'd have changed a bit, too? Mature themes, violence, swearing, and some sex scenes (clearly marked, as the violence will be, for the squicked or faint of heart). Oh yeah, it's also slightly AU as to Riddick's history, being that he was in Ursa Minor before working for the Company.

Pairing: Harry/Riddick

Summary: If you could live forever, what would you live for? The question was asked of Harry when he was younger, much younger, and he might have found the answer. Question is, can he protect those he loves? And how will his relationship with the convict Riddick change the events that take place?

**Chapter 3**

Riddick's POV

He followed Har-Orion outside, wincing even through the heavy welders' goggles as the sunlight once again hit his eyes. He adjusted quickly however, and submitted quietly to dragging supplies to the settlement, where he knew more labor would be required of him. But Orion was here, and that made everything different, didn't it?

He heard the woman, Shezza, whining to Johns about 'clicking his fingers and suddenly he's one of us', and smiled, even if no one else was paying attention. The woman was smart, even through her grief, which made her interesting. Interesting things were not to be trifled with; Orion had proved that on more than one occasion. He was thirsty, though, even though he had adjusted quickly to the lighter atmosphere of the desert planet. His silent wish was answered when a nearly full bottle fell from the rat-one's bag.

"Paris P. Oglevie, antiquities dealer, entrepreneur," the man stammered when he had backtracked to retrieve the bottle, only to be faced with Riddick. At the innocuous greeting and outstretched hand, Riddick grinned, a genuine grin; this man was amusing. He shook the hand, darkly delighted that at least someone had some sort of manners on this forsaken rock. He mentally shot the finger at Orion, once he realized that the thought had come from the older man.

"Richard B. Riddick, escaped convict, murderer." He was amused by the fear that flashed in the man's eyes, and also by the soft laughter that echoed in his mind. He took the top off of the bottle and tipped it to his mouth, draining the entire thing in one go, ignoring the half-hearted protests from the other man. This man wasn't really interesting, nothing he hadn't seen before, but this kill wasn't his. There was no need of his for this man to die, or indeed any of them but Johns. He hadn't even planned to kill Zeke; just scare him a bit and get his rebreather.

Once Paris had escaped him and turned tail back to the rest of the group, he resumed carrying the supplies, quite aware that he had probably just screwed himself by drinking that much alcohol on an empty stomach; even with his body's abilities, some things just happened. He felt something in his stomach, and the beginnings of the dizzy feeling he associated with strong spirits disappeared, gone as if it had never been, and his slight dehydration disappeared. As did his persistent feeling of not having enough air. He sent a wave of thanks Orion's way, knowing that that was the source.

Orion was being careful to stay away from him, and while a part of Riddick was annoyed, the analytical part of his mind understood. Underestimation was the best weapon. He also noticed Harry keeping a closer eye on all of the children, and so he did the same, though he had to be careful that it not be misconstrued as undue attention from a murderer. When they got to the town and he'd dropped his load, he went exploring, ostensibly to find more supplies to repair the wings, but also to figure out what had happened.

This place had been seemingly abandoned by its people some time before, but he'd heard the children exclaiming over an old toy found in the sands, and the evidence of hasty departure was everywhere. Only they hadn't gotten anywhere. The ship had been prepped, but never used. He felt Jack and one of the Arab boys following him, and he smiled to himself as he approached the coring room, noticing the dropped gauges and broken glasses near the entrance. He tried the doors, but they were secured from the inside, and a picture began to piece itself together in his head, of a group of people so frightened that they gathered only themselves and what food they could easily carry and locked themselves into a building. But why? Why would they do that if their ship was ready and waiting?

Johns interrupted his musings by calling for him like he was a pet. Irked, he yanked the cloth covering the solar power-couplings, revealing Jack. But the boy wasn't with her, and so he looked around, sniffing gently at the air, trying to find the boy's scent.

'I've got him,' Orion whispered into his mind, and he watched as the smaller man, almost shorter than the 'Captain', came around the corner of the building with the guilty looking child following closely. The four of them went back to the building the others were using as the headquarters, Orion laughing gently at Jack, who'd cut her hair close to the scalp, in imitation of Riddick himself, and pieced together a pair of goggles. When they entered, the others looked at her strangely, and Paris said something about her winning the 'look-alike contest.'

Darkly amused, Riddick listened with half an ear to the conversation that had been interrupted at their entrance. Orion joined in gleefully after passing him a glass of water, not taking one for himself. Riddick knew that the man really didn't need anything in the way of sustenance, but was surprised that he was so obviously stating that fact. The only one to pick up on it, however, was Johns, crafty motherfucker that he was.

"These people didn't leave," he interjected, when Shezza suggested a drop-ship as the geologists' way of getting off the planet. "Whoever got Zeke got them. They're all dead." He noticed Orion nodding in agreement out of the corner of his eye, but only pulled the goggles back down over his eyes; the sun was hurting them, and the kids were looking a bit too interested in the shine. "Come on, you don't believe these people left their clothes on hooks, photos on the shelves."

"Maybe they had weight limits," Shezza cut in. "You don't know."

"I know you don't prep your emergency ship unless there's a fuckin' emergency."

"He's fuckin' right," Jack said, earning her a slap on the back of the head from Orion.

"Watch your mouth," he warned both of them, and Riddick just put his hands up in surrender.

"He's just saying what we're all thinking," Carolyn said, standing up. "We need more information." Riddick's ears would have perked, if they were built for the ability. The oldest boy, Sulieman, had quietly slipped out a side door while he'd been speaking, and was gone.

'Coring Room,' Orion's sinuous mental whisper said, wrapping around his senses like a coiled viper.

"Where is Sulieman?" Imam said suddenly; he'd stayed out of the conversation for the most part, but had finally noticed that one of his sons was missing.

"Has anyone checked the Coring Room?" Riddick asked, heart heavy. He'd seen Ali, the little one, describing the opening he'd found before getting caught by Orion, had even understood most of what had been said. He doubted the boy would be alive when they arrived, but there was always a chance.

'Definite chance, love. Definite,' Orion said, before disappearing from sight by moving into the shadows. When they reached the Coring Room and Johns shot off whatever was locking it from the inside, the terrified scream of the boy was heard, followed by animalistic shrieking and silibant hissing. Sobbing started, and when they got the doors open, Orion was holding the frightened teenager, rocking him back and forth, murmuring something in Arabic in a soothing voice. Whatever had frightened the child was gone, and so they moved inside, only to be bombarded by a cloud of small creatures that shrieked in pain at the light before rushing as if one entity down the dark tunnel that took up the center of the room.

Orion passed the boy off to his father and moved over to Riddick, no longer being careful. True danger had come, and had been seen by everyone, not just heard by two people no one trusted. Riddick placed a hand on his arm before moving away; now was not the time. Johns dropped a flare down the hole, and everyone looked to Riddick to explain, which he thought was amusing, but he obliged, with no help from Harry; this was simple strategy, nothing he couldn't figure out on his own.

"Other buildings weren't secure," he said, staring down at the pile of bones at the bottom of the hole. "So they ran here, heaviest doors, thought they'd be safe. But they forgot to lock the cellar." Orion visibly stifled a laugh at his words, and he found himself suppressing a smile. It was funny, in a macabre kind of way, even if no one else saw the humor.

"Whatever the hell those things were," Johns said, trying to reassert what pitiful control he'd managed to keep, "they seem to stick to the dark, so as long as we stay in the light, we'll be okay. Alright?" No one was listening to him at this point, however, because Carolyn had just made an important discovery for the group as a whole.

"22 years. These coring samples are dated 22 years ago this month."

"And that's important?" Orion asked lazily, obviously leading her to her answer.

"Maybe…" She suddenly took off for another building, where a child-like model of the solar system was slowly revolving. Started to turn it herself, making it go faster and faster, until it reached 22 years. When it reached that number, the planets aligned in such a way around the second in the system that all three suns were eclipsed, and even when Carolyn moved the model further in time, the eclipse lasted. She stopped turning it after what would be maybe 3 months, and looked around to all of them.

"You're not afraid of the dark are you?" Riddick asked prosaically. Orion did laugh then, and so did the children, though he knew for the latter it was a nervous lack of true understanding, rather than genuine amusement. No one else uttered a word for a few moments, nor made a sound. Once the nervous (and not so nervous) laughter subsided, Carolyn stood and made her way out of the building.

Riddick ignored the conversation to come; it was all about what supplies and things needed to be made ready before the eclipse came, which could be days, weeks, or even hours from now. His new priority was his hair. It was itching and longer than he'd worn it in a long time, and he needed to do something about it. He knew he could just ask Orion, but he had a plan to unnerve a few people, namely Johns, and he knew just how to do it.

He created a shiv out of an extra bit of metal that had absolutely no purpose, and covered his head in discarded engine grease, waiting for Johns to finish whatever he was doing on the ship with Carolyn. It was nearly time for his next dose, and Riddick wanted to be the one that saw the effects, so that the merc knew that his weakness wasn't as secret as he'd supposed it to be, and based on prior knowledge of Riddick, the man would draw the correct conclusion; Riddick would use this to his advantage in any way he could.

Riddick's plans were more far-reaching than even Johns knew, however, especially now that Orion was in the picture. He calmly began to shave as he heard Johns' heavy boots clang on the ship's ramp. He listened intently, and pounced when Johns dry-heaved onto the ground next to the ship.

"Bad sign, shakin' like that in this heat," he remarked, all the while calmly running the sharp blade over his scalp.

"I thought I said no shivs." Johns said unsteadily, and Riddick, even though he wasn't looking, knew what he'd see if he did. The man was swaying on his feet, pupils dilating and contracting wildly, and he was falling into either withdrawals or intense pain.

"This?" he asked, holding up the scrap. "This is just a personal grooming appliance." And he continued to shave, smiling wryly at his own joke, and laughing internally at an image sent from Harry of an insane barber standing behind a chair, bloody blade just having given his client an ear-to-ear, permanent, grin. Johns was too far gone to make much comment, and quickly disappeared to an out of the way place. Riddick felt Orion ghost past him and followed his mate onto the ship, making it just before the ramp pulled up, leaving the two of them alone with Carolyn, who was doing systems checks with what little power there was.

"You're a little light on power, Carolyn," Orion started, and they both were pleased when she jumped as she was meant to.

"They're coming," she murmured quietly, eyes wide as she took in both of them. Perhaps she had just realized how very dangerous and precarious her situation was.

"It's strange, not doing a run-up on the main drive, yet," Riddick said, and allowed a smirk to cross his face as he continued. "Unless Johns told you the particulars on my escape."

"I got the quick and ugly version," she said shakily as she finished rising from her chair, the fear in her eyes plain at being closed in with them, since she couldn't open the ramp until the hull integrity test had run its course. Riddick was impressed, though, when she turned the console that he could easily see off; that took some guts.

"Now, you're worried about a repeat of history," Orion said with a dark grin.

"It has entered our minds," she said quietly, moving slightly into what Riddick realized was a defensive posture. He knew she was smart, and she just continued to prove it at every turn, excepting her attempted murder of the entirety of the passengers.

"I asked what you thought," he purred, stepping closer to her, cutting off what meager room she had. She barely flinched, which was a point to her, but her eyes widened enough that he became more amused.

"You scare me, that's what you want to hear, isn't it?" she said, and Riddick knew that Orion's grin, like his own, had grown at her statement. It wasn't so much that he wanted her to be afraid, he just wanted to know that her brain was actually working, to see if she would listen to what they had to say. "Now can I just get back to work?" She showed extreme bravery by turning her back to them, but it also showed that she was thinking; she knew that as long as she was needed, she was safe, and she might even have known that as long as she was amusing, she would be saved. Riddick neither knew nor cared which.

"I've been meaning to catch up with you alone, unrestrained," he said, his grin dying away as if it had never been. He felt Orion shift behind him and felt a grim satisfaction that he had been able to hide even part of his plan from the other man. He ignored the action though and moved closer into her space, knowing that he was enticing her; he knew that he was attractive, but he hoped that Orion knew where his loyalties laid, and that he was willing to use any weapon to get what he wanted. And right now he wanted her thinking, aware that something wasn't quite right with the 'cop.'

"You think, you think Johns is a do-right man? You think I can trust him to cut me loose?"

"Why? What'd you hear?" He heard the catch in her voice, this time not from fear but a vague arousal at his closeness and the tenseness of the situation. Orion shifted behind him again, and he threw a hand out behind him, unnoticed by the woman, begging him in his mind to stay out of it for just a little longer, to let him do this, that everything would work out.

"Well, I guess if he was being tricksy, he'd just 'X' me out. He'd kill me." He could almost feel her body tremble, he was so close to her. Orion's urgings to hurry up were annoying though, so he growled in his mind, and the other man backed off slightly, physically and mentally. "Then again," he continued, "I am worth twice as much alive." When she froze, he pretended ignorance.

"Oh, you didn't know that? Your Johns ain't a cop," he purred, leaning in closer. "He's got that nickel-slick badge, and that blue uniform, but he's just a merc." He pulled completely out of her space, shocking her again. "And I'm just a payday. That's why he won't kill me, see? The creed is gree-"

"Don't," she cut him off. "Waste my time." He could hear the quaver in her voice, smell the fear and sexual frustration that came off her in waves, and was surprised at her ability to remain calm, and he respected her just a little more, in that moment, than he would have otherwise. "We're not gonna turn on each other, no matter how hard you try." She went back to her seat to finish her tests, leaving him holding onto the pipes and wires overhead, smirking slightly in the half-darkness of the skiff.

Orion stepped up then, past him, and leaned on the back of her chair, surprising her with his silent movements. "I don't know what's going to happen when the lights go out, Carolyn," he said in a soothing tone, and Riddick wanted to laugh. If anyone on this rock knew anything, it was Orion, only he was prone to hold his hand closer to his chest than even Riddick. "But I do know that once the dying starts, this little family of ours is going to rip itself apart." She dropped her arm from the switches she was flipping, and Orion turned, motioning Riddick ahead of him. The tests were almost done, after all.

Riddick had one last bit of knowledge for Carolyn to chew on, and so he stopped halfway down the ship and said without turning, "Ever wonder why Johns shakes like that? Ask him, see what he says. Ask him why your little crew-pal had to scream so painfully before he died." He could feel her eyes on him, and smirked into the darkness he was facing before the hull opened and they stepped out of the ship and into the full light of day, which was somehow dimmer. Riddick had the feeling that that eclipse was happening sooner rather than later, which meant that he had work to do.

A/N2: Again, not much has changed, but it's enough that none of the children have died yet, right? Next chapter will be in Harry's view again, and if anyone has a problem with Riddick thinking of him as Orion, keep in mind that they haven't seen each other in 5 years, and Harry probably went by another first name sometime in the past as well, so it wouldn't be weird for Riddick to think that this is Harry's new name, the one he's taken up to escape something, or even just because he felt like it.

Again, reviews are the delicious candy that I only allow myself at certain times, so could you help me stock up so I can keep to my schedule of injections?

-Ta!


	4. Of Desires and Wizardry

Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Black, Riddick, or Harry Potter. I do however, own all of the HP books kin various incarnations, and have seen all of the movies for both series… so I do know what I'm doing, though they come and go as they please.

A/N: Holy crap, 3 chapters in one night? Unbelievable, but true. This is shaping up to be 2, maybe 3 more chapters in the making, with a sequel in the works that will continue through CoR and possibly beyond, but completely disregarding Dark Fury, since I can't acquire that one. Goddess bless and keep you all.

Warnings: WILL BE SLASH. Also, Riddick is not as soft as you'd think (I changed it finally because I realized that it really does sound rude the other way) around Harry, and Harry is slightly OOC, though after having lived so long, don't you think you'd have changed a bit, too? Mature themes, violence, swearing, and some sex scenes (clearly marked, as the violence will be, for the squicked or faint of heart). Oh yeah, it's also slightly AU as to Riddick's history, being that he was in Ursa Minor before working for the Company.

Pairing: Harry/Riddick

Summary: If you could live forever, what would you live for? The question was asked of Harry when he was younger, much younger, and he might have found the answer. Question is, can he protect those he loves? And how will his relationship with the convict Riddick change the events that take place?

**Chapter 4**

Harry watched as Rick methodically patched the wings with 'help' from the kids, all of whom thought he was the greatest thing since the ion drive. He was surprisingly patient with them, at least surprising to anyone who hadn't lived day-in and day-out with the man for years, who didn't know that the man had a soft spot for children that even encompassed his thirst for justice. Harry just leaned against a building, still peeved by the display Rick had given in the ship, but understanding what had happened. He was heartened when Carolyn went looking for Johns.

He heard their conversation, the righteous anger in her words, and winced in partial sympathy at his rejoinder as she was leaving. The older boys had left Ali and Jack to their 'helping' and had been poking about for usable things, but they had seen what he already knew: the ringed planet was rising in the east, and every moment the light was going just a bit dimmer.

Everyone scrambled to the sand cat, leaping onto it as fast as they could. He himself calmly climbed in, standing behind Paris when the other man opined that they should just leave Rick because 'he'd do the same to us.' He was delighted to smell urine when Rick landed on the back of the vehicle just as Paris finished his sentence, and nearly laughed when the man that reminded him of a skinny Peter Pettigrew (not that those memories were very sharp anymore, after so many millennia) backtracked and tried to pull himself out of a very deep hole he'd dug for himself.

Johns was the last to arrive, after Shezza had started moving, and Rick pulled him up into the back with a smile. Orion was curious as to what plans Rick had for the blonde, but not enough to pry. Paris ran over to the cargo hold when they got there, sniveling about needing some things from it, and hoping they 'wouldn't leave without me, would you?' Harry immediately joined in with the group grabbing the cells, magicking two of them lighter so he could carry them to the sled. Rick carried two of his own, and Johns was left looking like an idiot, Orion's favorite look on that man.

When they went to take off, it was already too late; there wasn't enough sun for the cat to move with, and Harry really couldn't risk using obvious magic this early in the game; and a game it was, because it was he, Rick, and Kyra against the world. It would be nice to be able to save the others (excepting Johns, of course) as well, but realistically, when it came right down to it, he would save his family first, and all others last. It was a version of Rick's 'only for me' motto, and he knew Rick would follow him in the change.

"What the hell are those things?" Johns asked as he stepped away from the useless vehicle. Rick just stood watching them, a naked kind of admiration on his face that Harry hadn't seen before. Though, Harry had to admit, his face must look much the same, for he could see what Rick did. They were amazing, sinuous creatures, and their cries were hauntingly beautiful in his ears. He was unaware that when he spoke, rick spoke in perfect unison.

"Beautiful." Their aerial acrobatics were simply stunning, and oh how he yearned to fly with them, if only for a few moments, to learn their movements. He knew Rick felt the same, but for an entirely different reason. Rick probably wanted to study their movements so that he could figure out a tactical advantage, while Harry simply wanted to be among them, to share their sheer joy at no longer being forced underground, at having the freedom they'd craved for so long.

He was shocked out of his awed musings by Rick, who drew him into a deep kiss. He responded without thinking, moaning into the hard mouth possessing his. He would have gone farther, but Paris's screams jolted them from their moment.

"PEOPLE!" he screamed, pointing at the mass of flying creatures. "Just a suggestion, but perhaps you should FLEE!" It was as if his words had galvanized them all, Rick pushing him towards 'Jack' and taking up the rear behind Shezza in order to catch stragglers. At this point it was still possible for all of them to get out of this alive, as long as no one panicked overmuch.

He could hear and feel the flock getting closer, and he picked up the two youngest children and sprinted to Paris with them, leaving the others to run themselves. And then it was just Shezza and Rick running, and the flock was coming so close.

"DOWN!" he roared, his voice amplified by a clutching fear and slight magical upgrade. Shezza dove for a small lowered area in the path, and Rick followed, barely rolling out of the way in time to miss getting clipped by one of the creatures. Harry felt the fear move through his veins, turning them to ice, and all he could do was watch. When the flock had seemingly passed, Shezza looked around and started to push herself to her feet. Rick stayed down, and Harry watched with horrified fascination as the flock circled 'round to make another pass.

"NO! STAY DOWN!" 'Jack' screamed, fighting to free herself from Harry's hold. Shezza began to run, and he could smell the fear on her even from here, and the desperate hope as safety came closer. All around him, Harry could hear the others whimpering, whispering 'No' and 'Don't'. Only 'Jack' was vocal about it, continuously screaming for the woman to get back down.

But it was too late. Harry watched Rick roll quickly onto his back as the flock flew lower on the second pass, and helplessly watched the woman torn in half by the creatures, her lower body falling only to be snatched up while her top half was carried off, still screaming. Harry turned Jack to face him and pulled her closer. She buried her face in his chest, but didn't cry, and he knew she would be in shock for awhile. He sent a small wave of calming magic into her, and her harsh screams subsided into pained whimpers and mutterings of 'should've stayed down, if she'd just stayed down.' He murmured nonsense words into her ear even as he watched Riddick make the run, safe now that the flock had gotten a meal, and clutched at the bigger man, feeling the tears welling on his cheeks.

"Don't you ever, EVER do that again, Richard," he whispered harshly, digging his hand into Rick's arm. Carolyn pulled Jack away from him and she went without much protest. He let her go only because if he didn't, he feared he would crack. Rick pulled him into an embrace for a moment.

"I can't promise anything, Orion," Rick rumbled into his ear before nuzzling his neck and turning as the strange, echoing calls sounded again. Harry could hear plainly the calls that food was to be had, and Rick carefully pulled his goggles up on his forehead. Harry turned with him to watch the spires crumbling as thousands of the creatures escaped the confines of their underground worlds into the freedom of the skies. Again, that fierce ache, the pull to fly with them tugged at him, and it wasn't until Johns spoke that he realized they weren't alone.

"What is it now, Riddick?" Harry realized that the merc didn't know that he himself could see just as well as Riddick's shined eyes.

"Like I said," Rick said with a fierce grin. "Ain't me you gotta worry about." The others had already gone inside, so they followed. Well, Rick dragged him inside, because he couldn't tear himself away from the sheer beauty the creatures were in flight.

"We've gotta step up the game love," he said plainly just before they joined the others, making sure Johns could hear him. "This won't do at all." In his mind he told Rick how scared he was, not of the night, or the creatures, but of the sway the sight of them flying and the sound of their voices had over him. Rick replied simply by touching his arm briefly. That was enough; it said that he wasn't in this alone, and Rick would be there to help, to call him back, just as he'd been doing all along.

Harry joined the others, since he didn't want the secret of his perfect night vision to get out. Not even normal enhancements could give him that and leave his eyes looking perfectly normal. That would be a secret best kept for when it would be most advantageous. Rick wandered along behind them, unwilling to be in so much light when he didn't need to. The others were searching for various lights, but Harry was frozen by the calls that echoed throughout the ruined ship. They were seductive, and he started to back away from the group. Rick propelled him forward with a gentle push and a not-so-gentle mental nudge. He pulled himself together quietly and quickly, even as everyone else fearfully scuttled into a hold room. He couldn't bring himself to enter, because he felt at least two of them inside, and the closer they were, the harder they were to resist.

"Come on, Orion, we'll be safe inside," Carolyn said, touching his arm. He jumped violently; all of his concentration was being used to resist the siren's call, and he hadn't even felt her approach, nor heard Rick's growl of warning.

"No, I can't go in there."

"Why not?" Paris asked loudly, and Harry turned on him.

"Because they're in there, you sniveling arse-wipe!" he hissed, not realizing that he was sounding more and more like the creatures he was trying so desperately to avoid. "I can feel them, and they are waiting in there for us. Do you really want to close yourself in a room with them? Especially with only a few flashlights and a cutting torch?" He picked said torch up off the floor where it had been dropped by Rick and handed it to Carolyn, who lit it quickly.

The rest closed the room up again, and moved on to another room, one that Harry confirmed was safe and did not contain the creatures. Once inside, they realized they were in the room with Paris's things, and the man made the suggestion that alcohol worked rather well for light, if the proof was high enough. Harry was happy that there were none of the creatures in this room, but he held Jack to him all the same, and she clung to him, both of them knowing that the other was the only thing keeping them sane. Rick stayed close by, a hand on each of their shoulders, unseen by the others, who were too busy strategizing to notice.

"You're saying you can get us there in the dark?" Johns finally exploded, his remark aimed at Carolyn.

"No," she answered. "No, I can't. But he can." With that she looked to Rick, who had already removed his hands. Harry clutched Jack to him harder, and started murmuring to her in Spanish, her native tongue.

"_It's all right, sweetheart, Papa's got you, I'll keep you safe, I promise."_ Her shaking stopped and she looked up at him in wonder, her dark eyes shining with hope and unshed tears.

"_You're really my dad?"_ she whispered, one tear starting to fall as he nodded, pulling her close again. Rick moved closer to the circle of light, and almost immediately, Johns had his gun jammed under the larger man's chin. Harry snorted out a soft laugh as Rick merely lifted the goggles off his face with one hand, and a slightly metallic tapping could be heard, too soft to be one of the creatures. Rick's 'grooming appliance' was steadily tapping right where the femoral artery met the groin. Johns looked down, and then back up, finally understanding the smile Rick had on his face. He removed the gun and sat back down, and Rick put the shiv away somewhere, before looking at the others in the circle.

Sulieman offered to take her so that Harry could join in with the adults on the planning process, and Jack went to him only after being promised that she wasn't being left, repeatedly, in Spanish. Once she was away, he joined the discussion, which had turned to how to carry the cells; each one weighed 35 Kilos after all, and that wasn't a light load, nearly 80 lbs. each. He knew he could lighten them, but not without telling them what he was. The same was true for the sand cat, which he could get running with a thought, and he was hesitant to reveal this, the most important of his many secrets. But he could feel and hear them getting closer, and he had to act.

"I have a suggestion," he said quietly, talking under Imam, who was saying something about weight ratios when dragging something. "Two of them, actually. Either we can lighten the cells, or get the sand cat working."

"And how do you propose doing either of those things?" Johns said snidely. Harry turned on him, and allowed his eyes, just for a moment, to show all of the weight and pain of millennia before closing them off again. Johns jumped, startled, and Harry turned back to the rest of the room, holding a hand out, palm up. Rick looked at him with naked shock, mouth fallen open. He knew exactly what that gesture meant, and what Harry was about to do.

"Rick, love, you might want to cover your eyes; this will be bright." As he watched Rick pull the goggles down and go so far as to cover the lenses with his shirt, he spoke to the others. "I would shield my eyes, were I you; looking directly at it could destroy them." With that, he closed his eyes, and without so much as a true thought, brought a ball of pure sunlight to life in his palm. When he opened his eyes, everyone was looking at him in fascinated horror, all except for the children, who were looking at him with undisguised awe.

His eyes swept over all of them for a moment before he extinguished the light, but he wasn't expecting another light to spring up from elsewhere. Jack was holding a tiny ball of light, no bigger than a fingernail, in her palm, and the sweat on her face showed how hard it was for her to maintain it. He hadn't expected her to be magical; none of his other children had been, even when he'd gotten them off of a witch.

"Jack, darling, you can let go of it now, sweetheart. Yours won't be needed tonight, Gods willing." The light went out and Jack slumped against Sulieman, exhausted but still awake. "That was very good, darling, but using it like that is quite taxing, especially if you have no training."

"What the FUCK was that?" Johns said fearfully, and Harry turned back to the rest of them, who were looking at him in shock now. Imam was kneeling now, and he rather thought the kneeling was to him, as if he were an emissary of God Himself, come to save them.

"Short version, it was sunlight. As to how I learned to make it, that story would take rather longer, and involves a plant, a dog, a clever little girl and a very evil old man. Two evil old men, actually. But that story is for another day. Long story short, I'm a Wizard. This is not a power granted by a deity, but something ingrained in my very genome. I believed I was the last; Jack here proved me wrong." He felt Rick come up behind him as the noises from the creatures got louder and his control began to fray. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get this whole thing figured out before they get here, as I won't be any use to you at all once they do."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. Harry looked at her, saw the stark terror in her eyes, the fear that he would leave her alone in this place.

"I mean that they call to my blood, call me to fly with them, to hunt, and I'm trying my damndest to resist so you need to choose now. Lighten the load or start the car?"

"Lighten the load," Johns said, and Harry hated the look in his eyes, one that proved that he planned to leave one or both of them behind on this gods-forsaken chunk of rock.

"Could you do it, Harry?" Rick asked, using his real first name for the first time since he'd learned the new one. "Could you control yourself long enough to get there?"

"If I walk with my eyes and ears closed, yes," he said, sweat standing on his brow. Painstakingly, he closed off his hearing, and relaxed as the call became softer, easier to ignore. "I could do it like this. I won't be able to hear any of you, though, so you'll have to lead me."

'Run with me,' Rick said into his mind. 'I'll keep you aware of what's happening, and you can help me spot.'

"In fact, I'll run with Rick." At their dubious looks, he snorted inelegantly. "I can see at least as well as him in the dark." He consciously made his eyes look like they had the 'shine'. "Would this make it more believable?" He could hold a thousand such minor enchantments altogether for hours without tiring, so lightening the four cells and keeping his eyes silvered would be no problem.

"But how… How would we carry them?" Imam asked slowly, allowing Harry to read his lips.

"You four," he said, pointing to Carolyn, Johns, Imam, and Paris. "You each carry one, and the children stay to the center, holding the lights that I will make for them. You will be safe as long as you stay together."

And so the preparations began.

A/N2: Harry has revealed his powers... the rest of them haven't really processed the actual facts yet, and the ones that have are still in shock. The only one acting normally is Riddick, and that's because he knew about it beforehand.

And just because I have to put it out here:

/rant

Oh, and I just reread Curious Reader's review, and I wonder if your words are a veiled threat to me, though it seemed pretty damn blatant. I can honestly say what I want, and whether I'm insulting someone is none of your business unless it's you I'm insulting. If you have a problem with the way I write, or something like that, there's a better way to go about it than just telling me it's bad and not even signing in so that we could continue this in private. I know I'm not a professional writer: there are few of that breed on this site, and you know exactly who they are when you read their work. But I'd like to think I have at least a tenuous grasp on storytelling (or even retelling, if that's what you want to call it), grammar, and spelling. But to just tell me that "I've read far better stories then this," does not cut it. And yes, I pulled that, spelling and all from the review in question. Although you did apologize for the bad grammar… But I digress. You did not simply either PM me or sign in with your review, and that leaves me without the option to leave this off the page. Instead, I'm forced to air this grievance the same way you did: in public. That smacks of cowardice to me, because you know exactly what my name is on here, but I have no idea who you are. If your aim was to anger me and make me actually lose my hold on my temper, you've succeeded. Congratulations. Now if you'd like to continue this in PMs, send me one and we'll get down to the nitty gritty of what you think about my writing and whether I'm being insulting to other authors. Honestly, I haven't read a bad HP/Riddick fic. I might not have found a few of them to be my cup of tea, but that doesn't mean I insulted the author and was coward enough to do it anonymously. That's the reason I originally had them disabled, because I've had trouble with this kind of thing before. So if you want to 'man up' as it were, let's go. (And no, I'm not trying to call you a man, I'm using it as an expression, in case that seemed insulting to you. Infact, this entire rant, except for the part about actually critiquing me instead of being vague, is not meant to insult anyone, and if it does, I apologize most profusely, but it's how I feel.)

/end rant

There, glad that's out of my system. This will be the last I post tonight, and I'm pretty sure I'll regret that rant tomorrow, but right now, my ire is up and being a redhead, I can't control my words when I'm pissed, especially when I stew over it through 6 pages of actual chapter. That rant was originally at the beginning of the chapter. I think I was restrained, honestly. Any thoughts?

And honestly, flames like that should have been thrown straight into my burn bin, or onto my altar to be used as kindling, but this one is the first I have received of this nature and I am not going to let it go. Might have something to do with the proximity to a few holidays that have my blood up, but whatever. Good night.

Oh, and I figured I might as well make this an even 3,950 words, so this will truly make it so. Good night.

EDIT: I needed to fix random spelling mistakes, and so I replaced this chapter. If you notice, the rant is still here… I didn't regret it, not at all, and though I'm not sure if it was sarcasm, someone said it was awesome. Anyway, 4000 words as of… now.


	5. Of Idiots and Prayer

Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Black, Riddick, or Harry Potter. I do however, own all of the HP books kin various incarnations, and have seen all of the movies for both series… so I do know what I'm doing, though they come and go as they please.

A/N:All right, this is another new chapter *wipes forehead* and I like it. I hope you will too.

To curious: I have Harry calling him Rick, and him thinking of himself as Riddick, simply because Harry wouldn't call him by his last name, and Richard is a little long for everyday use. I'm also trying to show their familiarity without overdoing it, and Harry has known him since Riddick was very young, though not since birth, even if Harry was on Furya at that time. It's how I see it in my head. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Warnings: WILL BE SLASH. Also, Riddick is not as soft as you'd think (I changed it finally because I realized that it really does sound rude the other way) around Harry, and Harry is slightly OOC, though after having lived so long, don't you think you'd have changed a bit, too? Mature themes, violence, swearing, and some sex scenes (clearly marked, as the violence will be, for the squicked or faint of heart). Oh yeah, it's also slightly AU as to Riddick's history, being that he was in Ursa Minor before working for the Company.

Pairing: Harry/Riddick

Summary: If you could live forever, what would you live for? The question was asked of Harry when he was younger, much younger, and he might have found the answer. Question is, can he protect those he loves? And how will his relationship with the convict Riddick change the events that take place?

**Chapter 5**

(Riddick's POV)

He couldn't believe that Orion had let his last secret be known to 7 other people, well, 6, since obviously, his daughter had the talent as well. He watched as the others scrambled, putting things together to go back over to get the cells. Riddick himself could have pulled all four at full weight in a pinch, and he knew Orion was aware of that, but there must be a reason that the smaller man didn't want his superior strength and stamina to be common knowledge.

He watched as the rest of them crept carefully out of the cargo hold, keeping a hand on Orion's arm so that he wouldn't rush in, or rather, out, of the area. Johns roughly pulled them apart, and it took almost all of his control not to gut the man right there. Luckily, the holy man took charge of Orion, and so he didn't have to worry as much, but he still growled threateningly when Johns pushed him toward the opening, with only an order to 'check it out.'

He lifted the goggles and looked into the darkness, trying to catch small movements that would denote one of the creatures. He then turned to Johns. "Looks clear." Even as he said it, he heard Orion's voice in his head warning him to duck. He dropped even as the screeching creature streamed from a hidden pocket of total darkness. Johns was livid, and told him to look again. "Looks clear," he repeated with a grin, Orion's laughter ringing in his head. Once inside, he stood with Orion while the latter lightened the cells enough that even the youngest children could carry them if needed.

They put the cells into improvised carriers that were secured on each of the adults' backs that weren't leading. At least, they were supposed to be. But Johns had disappeared, and Orion dragged him back into the main room quickly enough, grumbling under his breath about no-good blondes. Once everyone was loaded up, Orion made clear containers and placed brightly colored 'witch-lights' into them, handing one to each person, except himself and Riddick. For them, they actually used technology, two flashlights strapped to each of their backs, one pointing up, and one pointing down. He noticed that Orion's eyes were still 'shined,' though he could tell their color shone through, which made for an interesting look on the slighter man.

When the others were completely ready, Riddick pushed the doors open and stepped outside. "We'll be running 10 paces in front of you, we want light at our backs, not in our faces. We have one speed. Mine."

"You sure your whore can keep up?" Johns asked snidely, and Riddick just closed his eyes. The idiot obviously thought that Orion couldn't hear anything at all, forgetting that the man was nearly made of magic, and could poke into any mind he wanted to. He just happened to be tapping into Riddick's and since the comment was directed to him, Harry immediately knew about it.

"You know, William," Orion said silkily, stepping into Johns' personal space. "One of the older children can easily carry your weight, and I happen to like your gauge. You are grating on what little nerves I have left. Call me a whore again and you shall see what happens when they shred entirely." Riddick just let his smirk grow as Johns' face turned an unnatural shade of green. "And there are more ways to hurt someone than physically, though you'll wish I had just ghosted you when I'm through; do you understand?"

"Threatening a law-man is punishable by prison-" the blonde man tried to stammer, but Orion ran a fingertip down his unshaven jaw.

"You're as much a law-man as I am, William. Less, actually." Orion cocked his head, and Johns tried to move away, only to find himself caged because Riddick had moved himself into position, ignoring Johns, but watching his mate work.

"Back off of me, I've got the big gauge." Johns' voice was stronger now, even with two dangerous men surrounding him.

"Do you now?" Orion purred, a smile curving his lips, making him look evil as Riddick disarmed the merc. "I think you're wrong on that."

"This is getting us nowhere but wasting light and energy," Carolyn broke in finally, and Riddick noticed the kids, all of them but especially the little girl, staring at Orion like he was a predator, and if they moved too much they'd be the prey. At Carolyn's words, however, Orion slid away from Johns without warning, pulling the gun from Riddick as he did. The gun was in two pieces in moments, both of them dropping to the ground. Riddick also slipped away; having not turned his lights on yet, he melted into the shadows surrounding them. Orion's manner completely changed in the next second, and he became the Orion everyone else had been presented with in a split-second. Riddick was concerned; the Harry he'd known was never so mercurial, even after Sigma 3 and Ribald S. Something must have happened to the man in the intervening years since they'd separated; something bad.

Part of him wanted to drag Orion into the dark and hide from everyone, monsters and humans alike, and reclaim what was his; a selfish thought, because right now, everyone was relying on the two of them to save them. Another, more foolish but cunning part of his mind wanted to throw the girl over his shoulder, and order Harry to take them to the ship immediately. But that would tax even Harry's reserves, because while fairy-lights, eye-shining, and masking the scent of blood were minor, little things, easy to maintain and control, taking them partway across an alien world in the dark was a whole different animal.

Orion smiled at him, that private smile that no one else usually saw, and he quirked a grin in return. They were going to get out of this. They had to. The moment was broken as he heard the cries of the creatures, and Orion's head snapped up, smile gone and eyes intent on the closest flock, the fierce hope and pure _want_ in them made Riddick feel a little bit of that sway, and he marveled that Orion had been able to resist, especially when the taste he was getting was nowhere near the full-on slam that Orion had been dealing with since nightfall.

The others made motions of impatience and fear, so he got Orion's attention and began to move, listening to the others behind him as they began to follow. Less than 10 minutes into their trek, Paris dropped his light and it shattered, the light retracting into Orion. Cursing, the man dropped his cell to the ground and then dropped himself as one of the creatures swooped over him. Like the little weasel he was, he grabbed for one of the kids' lights, succeeding only in breaking another one. He was nearly crying by that point, whining that it wasn't fair, and then suddenly, he was gone.

With no warning, the one that had swooped him carried him off with a shriek, one that was answered by an angry Orion. Riddick was in awe as the smaller man shrieked in the same manner as the creatures, and then he dropped to the ground like a stone, his eyes abruptly losing their shine though the lights In their containers stayed lit. Riddick was at his side immediately, holding him as he hissed under his breath in a language that was near to, but not, the language of the monsters. Slowly, Orion's tensed form relaxed, and he stood again, breathing slightly heavy, but not from exertion, at least not physical.

'You ready?' Riddick sent cautiously, and Orion nodded, creating another light for Ali, who had been the one Paris had grabbed at. Sulieman, as the oldest of the children, and about Paris' size, took up the cell, nodding when he was asked if he could keep up. The run continued, and Riddick noticed that something was wrong. There was a canyon ahead, so he urged Orion to circle with him, giving him- no, them, time to think on what to do. The canyon was full of the creatures, and unless Orion could hold a shield of pure sunlight over the group, at least one of them would be lost.

Eventually Johns noticed their tracks crossing and brought it up to everyone else. When asked, Riddick commented truthfully that he had circled to think. Orion kept silent, staring fixedly at the ground, refusing to listen to or meet anyone's eyes. Riddick left him with the group, asking Imam to watch out for him, and Jack to hold his hand or something, and stepped off with Johns.

"We're not all gonna make it, you know," Johns said conversationally.

"You're just now realizing that? Smart man, Johns, you're a genius."

"8 of us left. I figure getting through the canyon and losing just 2 would be a feat."

"Not if I'm one of them."

"What if you were one in 6?" Riddick's thoughts were jumbled, but one word jumped out of them. 'Listen.'

"I'm listening." He made it sound intrigued, and Johns ate it up like the sick bastard he was.

"Battlefield doctors decided who lived or died; called it triage."

"Kept callin' it murder when I did it," Riddick remarked candidly. 'Learn,' his thoughts whispered, and he recognized that Harry was talking to him, but trying not to distract him.

"Either way I figure it's somethin' you can grab onto," Johns said, cocky smirk in place. Riddick already had an idea of how this was going to end up, but he let the man continue talking his way into a hole he couldn't escape. It really depended on who he chose as the bait.

"Get 'em at the start of the canyon?" he asked, prodding the man. "Sacrifice, leave 'em there?"

"Trawl it. You got extra cable on the sled. I figure we drag the body 40, 50 ft behind us-"

"Nice embellishment."

"I don't wanna feed them, just keep them off our scent." Riddick knew harry was monitoring this conversation closely, and so he just let it ride, letting his natural responses come into play, knowing that he'd be kept in check by his rather more emotional mate.

"So which ones caught your eye?" he asked, glancing back at the group, who was huddled together, following behind them as they spoke.

"Don't look. Jesus, you stupid or something?"

"Or something," Riddick replied, smirking. They continued to walk, and he was itchy at the merc being at his back, but with that fairy-light, that was the only place he could be without blinding him.

"All right, enough of this. You do the girl, and the little boy, I'll keep the others off of you." For a moment, Riddick thought he meant Carolyn, and then an angry growl ripped through the back of his mind and he realized that the man meant Jack, his mate's daughter, and for all intents and purposes on this little jaunt, his responsibility. the other little one was cute, too. "Not too big of a job for you, is it?" Riddick stopped and turned, facing him head on, looking him in the eyes.

"I'm just wondering if we don't need a bigger piece of bait." He saw the realization in Johns' eyes, seconds before the man lunged at him. He deftly parried the gun and knocked the light to the ground. Somehow, it only bounced, not breaking, and he grabbed the gun from Johns, trying to shoot him quickly. The man got a lucky shot in though, and dislocated his elbow, knocking the gun to the ground. Riddick threw his good fist into Johns' face, almost skewering him on sharp bones.

While Johns was busy pulling himself free, Riddick reset his elbow, popping it back into place. Johns was more wary of getting close in now, but when Riddick pulled the lights from his back and turned them off, the only thing left was the eery green glow of the light in its container, and they circled each other. Knives came out, and it became a viscious hand-to hand battle, ending with Riddick pinning Johns to the ground.

He stared down at the other man; in another life, the man would have made a fun playmate, but this was involving family, and that was the only sacred thing he had left. "One rule," he purred into the downed man's ear, before flipping away. "Stay in the light." Johns lunged for him and he spun around behind him. "Remember that moment," he said, slashing at the man's unprotected back. As if in prearranged signal, the light began to die, and he watched dispassionately as the man flailed for his gun.

"Shoulda never let me free, Johns," he taunted as he picked up his lights and began to back away, amused. "You were one brave fuck before, with you badge, and your gun. And the chains, and the bit. Billy BadAss. Now you're just meat," he finished as the light completely died, and he melted into the shadows. The only light left was the small flashlight on the gun, and Johns struggled to his feet, swinging the light around crazily, trying to catch sight of him. "Told you to ghost me," he whispered as he slipped completely away, moving far enough to watch the mayhem as Johns was summarily torn apart by the creatures, who had gone mad for his blood.

He made his way to the group, which was huddled together, Orion in the middle, trying to find their way back to the ship. He crept up, and smiled when Carolyn let out a cry of fright. He looked to all of them. "Back to the ship, huh? Huddle together until Orion's exhausted and the lights go out? 'Til you can't see what's eating you? That's the big plan?"

"Where is Johns?" Imam asked guardedly, and he looked at him sharply, but with amusement.

"Which half?"

"We're all gonna die out here!" Jack cried out from where she was touching Orion, who seemed to be deep in thought, or meditation.

"He went quick, which is the way we should all go, if we get a choice." The girl was tearing up, and he stepped closer to her. "Don't you cry for Johns; don't you dare," he said hotly, before gathering Orion into his arms and walking back to where Johns' cell lay abandoned on the ground. He quickly strapped it to himself and returned to the group. They began to walk again, and this time it was all of the adults that were left, and Sulieman, surrounding Jack, Hassan, and Ali. Riddick went ahead, eventually putting Orion down after having brought him back to himself.

"Should we not pray?" Imam asked from his place, and Riddick stopped stock still. "It is painless."

"It's pointless."

"I know you do not believe-" Riddick cut him off, turning to face the rest of the group. Orion was behind him, eyes shining. They had had this conversation before, regarding religion, and the argument had been made already, so his answer, at least to Orion, was already known.

"You think someone can spend half their life in slams, with a horse bit in their mouth and not believe? You think someone can start out in a liquor store trash bin with their birth cord wrapped around their neck and not believe? Got it all wrong, Father; I absolutely believe in God. And I absolutely hate the fucker." Orion began to snicker behind him, and Imam's face betrayed his uneasiness at being so close to one who abhorred the very being he took direction and succor from.

"He is with us, nonetheless," the man finally said, rejoining his sons. Riddick turned and continued to lead the group, telling them not to stop for anything and keep the children close. He then began to sprint through the canyon, Orion at his side, though he could feel that the other man was tiring; the strain of trying to keep himself human and keep up the lights and protections that he'd set was telling on him.

"Hang on, Hunter," he said quietly, using the nickname he'd given the man years before in the Sweepers. "We'll get through this. For us."

"For Kyra," Orion gritted out, and a new life seemed to fill him. For the first time since he'd gone catatonic, Riddick really felt that they would get through this alive.

A/N2: So one more chapter of this one, and then it's on to the sequel, set between PB and CoR. I've gotta figure out what to do from here, because Crematoria and the Necros will also be a part of it, but the whole thing will have to come about differently.

Thanks for continuing to read my pathetic attempt at inserting HP into PB, and I hope you've enjoyed this installment.

-Ta!


	6. Lost and Found

Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Black, Riddick, or Harry Potter. I do however, own all of the HP books kin various incarnations, and have seen all of the movies for both series… so I do know what I'm doing, though they come and go as they please.

A/N: So this is the last chapter of Dark as Pitch… I'm kind of sad, actually, because this has to be one of my favorites, and the muse has been fairly rabid about getting it out of the way so we can get onto original material. Hope you like my ending. Oh, and sorry for the lack of sex… Muse wouldn't let me take time out for it… Pity, because I had a good one planned. Oh well, I'll save it for the sequel.

To Stephen Holmes: Thanks for your review, not only on this, but on my other stories that you've read. You're a very positive person and I appreciate the support.

Warnings: WILL BE SLASH. Also, Riddick is not as soft as you'd think (I changed it finally because I realized that it really does sound rude the other way) around Harry, and Harry is slightly OOC, though after having lived so long, don't you think you'd have changed a bit, too? Mature themes, violence, swearing, and some sex scenes (clearly marked, as the violence will be, for the squicked or faint of heart). Oh yeah, it's also slightly AU as to Riddick's history, being that he was in Ursa Minor before working for the Company.

Pairing: Harry/Riddick

Summary: If you could live forever, what would you live for? The question was asked of Harry when he was younger, much younger, and he might have found the answer. Question is, can he protect those he loves? And how will his relationship with the convict Riddick change the events that take place?

**Chapter 6**

They slogged through the canyon, and Harry was glad that the little ones couldn't see what was happening above; all of the tearing and rending as the mating dances began, and the losers helped sustain the next generation. The Call was lessening now, it seemed, as they became less focused on their freedom, and more focused on the continuation of their species. It was still there, however, and he was constantly stopping himself from answering, because the loss of his control before had worn him; he was expending more of his energy to close off his mind from them than he'd had to before.

It was like an addiction; he'd had a taste, and it was increasingly harder to push the stuff away, to stay clean, as it were. Rick was a great help, and the thought of surviving this for Kyra was there also. He felt the hot blood hit his body, and thoughtlessly changed his clothing so that not one bit of skin or hair was exposed. He was afraid of the blood hitting him, of what it would do to him if he allowed it. He heard Kyra's frightened gasp, and his concentration slipped, just enough for the mask on her scent to malfunction.

It was like calling moths to a flame, losing that thread of concentration. Kyra was 12, and like most young girls, was bleeding. He'd masked it without saying anything to anyone, though he was sure Rick had smelled her before he'd masked it. The creatures were circling them, but he had nothing more to give to create the mask again; it was one of the few things he actually had to think about, and he had neither the time or the mental faculties left to spare. In compensation, the lights became brighter, adding a bit more protection.

"Stay around the girl!" Rick roared. "They've got her blood now, and they won't give it up." Harry just ran faster, trying to remember the terrain and translate it to his dark-sight. Rick was better at it, so he stayed next to his mate, running with him, keeping close, for if he opened his senses anymore, he would be lost.

He felt Rick tense, and tapped in, hearing Imam and his sons screaming, begging for Hassan to be returned. The boy had dropped his light on accident when the creatures' blood had slickened the container. As he felt the light return to him, he despaired for the child. Imam and the other boys wanted to stop, he knew they would, so he just kept going.

"We'll mourn him later. Let's go!" And so the group continued, 6 now, and a heavy pall of grief fell over the humans in the party. He shook the despair from himself and kept his eyes moving, watching for more of the creatures. He felt Rick doing the same next to him, and kept a small tap on the man's hearing, so that he would be warned if something else happened.

It began to rain. He cursed silently; the terrain would be much harder to navigate through, what with the mud. They might lose another; he resolved that it wouldn't be Kyra. He strengthened the lights again, gritting his teeth as the pull on his energy became a physical thing, nearly painful, but at the same time a kind of numb tingle, like the ghostly feeling of a freshly amputated limb. He was nearing the end of his endurance, and no matter how strong and old he was, he couldn't help that.

'I'm losing the fight,' he transmitted to Rick a few minutes later, as the Call became louder and more insistent. The mating time was upon them, yes, but the ones who had already mated for the time being were once more taking to the skies in joy of freedom, and painful anticipation of the meal to come. He closed off his sense of smell, and the Call dimmed to a dull roar, painful but ignorable, as long as he had a distraction to get him through it.

'Need help?'

"Talk to me," he grunted, as the lights began to dim again. Kyra was sobbing now, being pushed along by Sulieman, who was also crying. The sound of it, muffled as it was through Rick's consciousness, nearly broke his heart and he _pulled_ from somewhere deep inside him, a wrenching pain that made him gasp for breath. But the lights brightened again, and he would be able to keep them that way for a little while.

"About what? You obviously know what I've been up to the last 5 years, seeing as how you followed me here."

"Fine," he said. "I'll tell you what I was doing. It should prove at least a little amusing." He heard Rick's dark chuckle, and relished in the sound, taking strength from the feeling of his mate being beside him. "While you were getting your eyes fixed, I was teaching at a school." The choked laughter pleased him, made him feel a little lighter. "What? I taught you, didn't I?"

"That you did, Hunter, that you did. But teaching normal kids? Seems like it'd be too boring."

"Says you. Sometimes it's soothing not to have to teach defense tactics along with reading, you know." Their run continued, and Harry just cursed when the rain started. At least his clothing was waterproof. The others were having trouble moving, and he felt it when Ali slipped in the mud and fell out of the group. Before anyone could go back for him, he was completely gone.

The joyous cries of the ones who got the boy cut through Harry's control like a scalpel, even through his connection to Rick's ears. He exploded into shape as one of them; a creature created for the night, born and bred to live in a world without light. What was left of his human mind kept the lights burning brightly with no effort, especially now that the majority of his energy wasn't being turned toward keeping away from this joyous shape.

He vaguely heard the screams of the group over a very familiar roar. But the creature's mind was too strong, and so he joined his brothers and sisters in the sky. Unlike them, he could sense where everything was without making a sound, so he flew silently, joyously, until that first itch was out of his system. Then the screams of the humans became louder, and he remembered. At least, he remembered that he was supposed to protect them.

He screeched a warning to the creatures nearby and dove, ignoring the instinct to rend and tear soft flesh in favor of shielding it. He tried to speak to Rick, mind to mind, but got nothing back. It wasn't working in this form, so he swooped down, hoping Rick would understand, only to scream when his skin touched the lights. He hastily hid behind a rock, trying to explain, and was almost surprised when Rick's signature came closer.

"Harry?" the question was soothing, cautious. He moved his head forward slowly, moth closed, hoping to appear non-threatening. Rick was crouching as well, shined eyes piercing him. He prostrated himself: he wanted to protect the others, but the Call had been too strong, he couldn't find the willpower to return to his human form, nor indeed to any form he possessed.

"Harry, you need to come back." Rick was no-nonsense. "For me. For Kyra. She's screaming, Harry. Can't you hear her?" Indeed, there was a higher-pitched scream among the others, and garbled words in Spanish, that he couldn't make out. "She needs you, Harry. You, not this thing. Come back." Harry curled in on himself, a keening cry rending the air. The other monsters recoiled from it, leaving the immediate area; sorrow was unheard of for them. Anger, joy, and pain, were the only emotions they really felt.

The cry turned into an agonized scream, and suddenly he was himself again, being gathered into Rick's arms. He shook for a moment in reaction; the change back had been painful, and it took time for him to get over it. Thankfully, the part of him that had kept the lights up continued to do so, even through the pain, or else there would have been no point.

"Let's go back," Rick said after a few moments, and Harry realized that Rick cared for the others, if only a little bit. He smiled and pulled away, leading the way back to the group. The Call was gone, as if it had never been, and he summoned a shield of pure light, settling it over the humans, leaving Rick on the outside. But Rick had already turned away, to continue leading them. After summoning his shield he scooped Kyra into his arms and just held her as he walked, murmuring nonsense into her hair as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"What happened, Orion?" Carolyn finally asked.

"I lost the fight," he said simply. Of course he realized that if he had just flown with them in the first place, when the Call began, none of this would have happened, but what was done was done. No use crying over spilt milk as the old expression went.

"But you are here," Imam said cautiously.

"I remembered what I am fighting for. Come on. Rick's getting further away. We're safe now, now that the shield is up. Let's hurry." They began to run, after he set Kyra down, catching up so that they were right behind Rick. Twice they had to crawl through bones, necessitating the removal of the large shield. At the second time, a tail wrapped around Sulieman's neck and dragged him up a cliff face. Harry followed, faster than the eye could see, and killed the creature quickly, carrying Sulieman back down. The boy was winded, and very bruised, but he would live. Unfortunately, he could no longer run on his own, so Imam tried to put him on his back.

Harry pulled the strapped cell off of the older man and lightened Sulieman so that it would be easier for Father and son to hold onto each other, and keep the pace. He himself donned the cell, and erected the shield immediately. After that, he just raised the shield higher whenever it was needed, instead of taking it down.

"How far are we?" he called after a few more minutes, knowing that the settlement had to be close. Rick just kept on running, which was puzzling to him. Rick had brought him back from the brink of nothingness, spouting 'for us' and 'she needs you' but he wasn't answering now? "Rick…" he said in a warning tone. He absolutely knew the other man could hear him. "Richard. How close are we?"

"Close," was the clipped answer that came back to him. He prodded at his mind, and figured out what had irked him. He thought Harry had come back for Kyra, not for him. Time to rectify that. He left the group and joined Rick.

"What's wrong, Rick? Afraid I like her more than you?" The tensing of the shoulders was the only answer he needed. "She's my daughter, Rick. The only blood relative of mine to survive past early childhood. Of course I want to protect her. But you, Rick…" He chuckled darkly to himself. "You happen to be something more important. Honestly, if she dies, I'll wait another century, find someone else. But there is only one Richard B. Riddick. And there only ever will be." The tenseness retreated slightly, and Harry managed to position himself so that he was looking up into Rick's face whilst still running, trusting the big man to navigate him.

"Right…" Rick drawled. Harry grinned triumphantly; he KNEW there was some emotion there! For the most part, Rick was a sociopath; born that way due to his Furyan heritage. But even sociopaths had limits, and he'd found one. Harry himself had tested sociopathic, but after endless millennia of life, and being above everything, anyone would become that way, if only to protect themselves.

"Really!" he said, nodding with a persistent grin. Rick's eyes flashed momentarily, and the tenseness was gone as if it had never been. Harry knew that he was up for some punishment, but hell, he'd become somewhat of a masochist. He straightened, the grin never leaving, and ran faster; even he could see the reflection off of the buildings now. He began shouting jubilations in every language he knew, most of them extinct, as he rushed toward the settlement, sending little balls of sunlight into every shadow, flushing out the creatures in their way.

Moments after he reached the skiff, Rick joined him, and they had a couple of minutes until the rest of the group would join them. Rick bore him into the empty interior, shoving him into a chair. He allowed the movement, growling against Rick's questing mouth. They fought for dominance for a few moments, before he submitted, mewling in pleasure. Part of him wished for more time, but once they got off this gods-forsaken piece of shit rock, they would have all the time in the world. He finally pushed Rick away, running out of the ship and back to the group, leading them to the skiff. There were 6 of them left, very good ending with the circumstances. 6 out of 10 was very very good.

Once they were on the skiff, with the cells plugged in, Rick sat down in the pilot's chair, while the rest of them strapped into the passenger seats, Harry taking the navigations chair. Rick started to run up the engines, and then powered completely down. Harry looked at him curiously: what was he planning?

"What are you doing Riddick?" Kyra asked in a quavering voice. The creatures had begun to swarm the skiff, searching for a way in. Harry had already dispelled all of the lights he'd created, so it was solid black outside the front viewscreen.

"We can't leave…" Rick said, holding the accelerator in a tight grip. The creatures began attacking the viewscreen. "Without saying good night." With that he shoved the accelerator completely forward, burning the ones behind, mowing down the ones in front. The others whooped in celebration, but Harry just smiled. There was the Rick he knew and loved.

Hours later, Kyra brought up a question that everyone but Harry probably had on their minds. "What do we say about you? First ship we run into will probably be a merc ship."

"Tell them Riddick died somewhere on the planet," he answered, and Harry's smile grew. 'Riddick' could never die, but maybe, just maybe, they might find some peace.

**THE END**

A/N2: And there you have it, the end of dark as Pitch. Now all I have to do is figure out a title for the first sequel and get cracking.

Thanks to all of you who have stuck with the story, even through the long, _long _hiatus and my insanity. I hope you guys keep a watch out for the next one, and I hope I didn't disappoint.

-Ta!

Roisa


End file.
